The government has announced its plans for a major new rail network across the North that will deliver faster, more frequent services. Included is funding to develop a Full Business Case for a new train station at Parkgate, which would reconnect Rotherham to the mainline.
For too long Rotherham has been overlooked. As recently as 2021, the town was left out of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands published by the previous Conservative government. This was hugely disappointing and reflected a lack of ambition for Rotherham.
I am therefore pleased to see proposals for Rotherham Gateway Station included in the first phase of the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) programme, with the Department for Transport releasing the funds needed to develop a Full Business Case. This is an important step forward for Rotherham and South Yorkshire to improving transport links and connectivity for local people.
I have backed the scheme from the very start when Rotherham Council first set out their proposals for the project in 2022. I wrote to the then Transport Secretary in 2023 giving my full support to the scheme and to request that the previous government gave its full consideration to the proposals. Last summer, I visited the proposed site at Forge Way, Parkgate, alongside local councillors and senior council officers.
The decision taken to approve funding for a Full Business Case in the NPR plans shows a clear commitment from this Labour government to beginning to put years of underinvestment right. It signals clear support for the wider ambition we have to strengthen the region’s economy and create new opportunities for residents.
The development of a new station would restore mainline intercity services to Rotherham for the first time since the mid-1980s and will play a key role in supporting regeneration and growth across the town.
This goes hand in hand with the Rotherham Town Centre Masterplan, several regeneration projects across the Borough and the government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods and Pride in Place Programme.
This is a key step in the ambitious regeneration of Rotherham, and I will continue working with Rotherham Council, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Yorkshire Mayors, and the Department for Transport.